


The Other Mariner

by kira_katrine



Category: Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27241129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kira_katrine/pseuds/kira_katrine
Summary: There is an intruder on board the ISS Cerritos.One who Captain Freeman hadn't thought she'd ever see again.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	The Other Mariner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thesleepingsatellite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesleepingsatellite/gifts).



The intruder was close by. She was crouching around the corner, he knew; he could see her heat signature with his optical implant. Foolish to think she could get away.

“You can’t hide from me,” said Rutherford, “so you might as well come out now, Ensign Beckett Mariner.”

Mariner stepped out into the hall. “Rutherford,” she said. She looked a little surprised to see him--but then, a lot had changed since the last time they’d seen each other. 

“That’s Security Chief Rutherford to you,” Rutherford responded. Mariner hadn’t been on the I.S.S. Cerritos in months, so naturally she’d missed some things. Such as the fact that Rutherford had finally gotten the cyber enhancements he’d wanted for years, and they had allowed him to fulfill his true passion in life--finding ever more efficient ways to kill things. “And you’re coming with me.”

Carol Freeman sat on the bridge of the Cerritos, sipping her coffee and wondering if anything actually interesting would happen that day. It wasn’t that second contact wasn’t an important job--it absolutely was. One that Freeman was proud to do for her great and fearless Emperor. It was just that, by the time you were on your second contact with the Terran Empire, you were usually dead, or well on your way there (and in the latter case, actually killing them was generally reserved for _third_ contact). Which was never as much fun.

The bridge door slid open, and Freeman heard a scuffle behind her. She turned to see Chief Rutherford dragging a woman, dressed all in black, onto the bridge. Not one of her officers, then--but apart from that, that didn’t really narrow it down.

Rutherford shoved the woman down in front of Freeman’s chair. She looked up at the captain, a look of fury in her eyes, and Freeman realized with a jolt who she was seeing.

“Beckett Mariner,” she said, looking down at her daughter. “I didn’t expect to see you again. I’d certainly hoped I wouldn’t.”

“Really?” Mariner said, rolling her eyes. “You did? Now, why in the _world_ would that be?”

“You tried to kill me!”

“Yeah, well, who hasn’t at this point?” Mariner said. “Boimler’s probably tried to kill you twice this week already.”

“How did you know that?” Freeman demanded.

“It was just a lucky guess, actually,” said Mariner. “Seems like the kind of thing he’d do.”

“Regardless, that’s hardly relevant,” Freeman said. “Just because a lot of people have tried to kill me doesn’t mean I have to put up with it from _you_ , of all people.”

“And yet somehow, it’s only me that gets your goons sent after her,” Mariner said. “You know, if you did a better job of getting rid of _all_ the people who tried to kill you, you might have actually advanced past being the Emperor’s clean-up crew by now.” 

“All right, that’s enough from you!” Freeman snapped. “Perhaps you’ve finally decided you want to usurp my place commanding this ship--”

“What? Why the hell would I want that?” Mariner said. “I don’t think _you_ even want your place on this ship.”

“That is none of your concern,” Freeman said, actually slightly disappointed at Mariner’s response. _Ah, well. It was worth a try._ “Nor are the disciplinary practices I choose to put in place aboard my ship. Which, in case you forgot, comes equipped with several agonizer booths--they might not be top-of-the-line but they’re still not any fun to be locked inside of--”

“Wait!” Mariner said. “Before you do anything like that, there’s something you should know.”

“Oh?” Freeman said.

“I’m from an alternate timeline,” Mariner said. “I just ended up here by accident. In my universe, we have a Federation instead of an Empire, and it’s pretty boring and stuff, but at least Ransom doesn’t have that ridiculous goatee--”

“Hey!” Ransom objected. 

“Oh, right. Like you really expect me to believe that?” Freeman said. “Do you have any idea how many people have tried--”

“But it’s true!” Mariner said. “I know it’s weird that it happens so often, but I think there must just be some kind of link--”

“--I’m sure you remember what we did to that one idiot who claimed he was from an alternate timeline where the Empire fell and the Cardassians had taken over or some such nonsense--”

“--and I just came onto the ship so I could use your transporter to send myself back home, I wasn’t trying to kill you or anything. We don’t do that where I’m from.”

Freeman narrowed her eyes, as if she could somehow see the truth if she just looked at Mariner a little more closely. “Rutherford!” she said. “Can any of your cyborg bits tell if this is true or not?”

“I’m detecting a weird quantum thing,” Rutherford said. “It’s coming from something on her.”

“A little more specific?”

“I’m trying,” Rutherford said. “It’s telling me I have to install the latest update before I can--”

“Oh, forget you!” Freeman snapped. “I’ll figure this out myself.” She could always lock this Mariner up until Rutherford’s update was done… but first, she’d try and find out a bit more.

“You’re telling me you’re an alternate timeline version of Mariner who isn’t going to try and kill me?” Freeman said slowly.

“Yes.”

“And does this version of you actually do as she’s told?”

“I don’t think I actually said--”

“Because that would be just perfect,” said Freeman. “Maybe you wouldn’t be as much of a massive disappointment to me as the other Beckett Mariner. _You_ could actually be a worthy successor commanding this ship. I assume your universe is still fine with the whole genocidal conquest thing?”

“So you just--what, you just gave up on that other Mariner? You don’t think she’d, I dunno, be mad or anything?”

“Ah, she’s probably dead by now,” Freeman said. “She was nowhere near ambitious enough and yet somehow still managed to make a massive number of enemies--”

“Oh, I think she can fend for herself!” Mariner shouted, pulling out a knife and brandishing it at Freeman. Freeman dodged out of the way just in time.

“Wait--what happened to you not trying to kill me? Was that all a lie after all?”

“Of course it was!” Mariner shouted. “Wow, you’re even dumber than I thought!”

“I’m not as dumb as you wish I was, Beckett!” Freeman yelled, leaping over her chair and dodging Mariner’s knife again. “Now tell me--if you don’t want my job--why are you even bothering with all this?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” Mariner said sarcastically. “Maybe because you piss me the hell off! You always have!”

“That is not a reason to kill your own-- _captain_!”

“Everything’s a reason to kill anyone! Seriously, what rock have you been living under?”

“I gave you everything, Beckett Mariner! I gave you the best education, I taught you how to fight, I let you play with the buttons on the agony booths when I was busy and wanted to get you out of the way for a little bit--” Everyone on the bridge was giving her very weird looks. “Why are you all just standing around? Security, seize her! Take her away!”

“No!” shouted Mariner as two security guards dragged her away from the captain. “You’ll regret this! You’re the one who’ll pay for this! Not me! I don’t even care! You can’t keep me down! Not for long!”

“Sure, you just keep telling yourself that,” Freeman said.

“And nice try, pawning your crappy job off on me,” Mariner said. “But I’ve got other things in mind. Better things. _Funner_ things. Things someone like you could never even--”

The bridge doors shut as the security officers marched Mariner away. Freeman shook her head in exasperation as she sat back down. Why couldn’t her daughter just act like a normal Terran? It would be one thing if she wanted to kill Freeman as her _captain_ , in order to advance herself (not that she’d be _happy_ about that either, but it would at least make sense), but this...

But then, there was the weird quantum thing to consider. And Mariner certainly had seemed to know an awful lot about this supposed alternate timeline.

Freeman smirked. Perhaps she would get to find out something new. Do something first for once.

And if not… either way, Mariner wasn’t getting away so easy this time.


End file.
